The role of parenting styles on children’s achievement strategies and their development during the first grade
The study investigates the role of mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles (i.e., affection, behavioral control and psychological control) on children’s achievement strategies during the transition to primary school. The participants were 152 first-grade children and their parents. Parenting styles were measured at the beginning of the first school year using a questionnaire. Children’s achievement strategies were measured twice using observation in a test situation: at the beginning and at the end of the first grade. At the first measurement point, their skills in reading and math were also tested. The results showed that the use of task-avoidant strategy during the first grade was more typical for boys than for girls. Moreover, mothers’ affection, in particular, predicted children’s adaptive strategies, such as decreased helplessness and anxiety during the school year. Mothers’ behavioral control had positive impact on boys decreasing their task-avoidant behavior during the school year. The role of fathers’ parenting styles was smaller than those of mothers.